By Alex Hoffman, 3L

On Tuesday, March 23, Pres. Barack Obama signed the Health Care Reform bill into law after the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of the bill the previous Sunday in an eleventh-hour vote of 219-212. The vote was largely down party lines with 219 House Democrats voting in favor of the bill and House Republicans and 34 Democrats voting against it. Upon the bill’s passage in the House, after a hard fought battle lasting half a year, Obama declared, “We proved that this government, a government of the people and by the people, still works for the people.”

Despite the victory for the president and the Democratic Congress, congressional Republicans and the majority of the population are not celebrating. A CNN/Opinion Research poll released March 22 shows that 39 percent of voters approve of the Health Care Reform bill, with 59 percent who disapprove. Up until the bill’s passage, there has been a notable decline in support, and it has taken a toll on the approval ratings for both Obama and Congress. The same CNN/Opinion Research poll shows Obama with 46 percent approval rating, compared to 51 percent who disapprove. Congress’s numbers have typically been much lower than a sitting president’s approval, but a CBS News poll released March 22 finds that 14 percent of voters approve of job Congress is doing, with a whopping 76 percent who disapprove.

The legislation would seek to cover approximately 32 million Americans who lack any form of health insurance, in addition to barring insurance companies from rejecting patients who have pre-existing medical conditions. This portion of the bill would go into effect in six months. The bill also includes a mandate, requiring all individuals to own some form of health insurance, or else pay a fine. Employers with 50 or more employees also are mandated to provide insurance for their workers or face a fine of up to $3,000 for each uninsured individual. These provisions won’t take effect until 2014. By 2016, the penalty for those who do not purchase health insurance will be 2.5 percent of taxable income or $695, whichever is greater. Small businesses will be given subsidies to help pay for their employees’ health insurance. The total cost of the bill is approximately $1.1 trillion over 10 years and is expected to be funded by new taxes on individuals earning more than $200,000 a year as well as couples earning more than $250,000 a year, taxes on the sale of medical devices, annual fees on pharmaceutical companies, annual fees by the insurance industry, all in addition to insurance premiums and taxes on individual and family health plans.

Just days after the bill’s passage in the House, the legislation has been challenged on multiple fronts from a political, a legislative and a constitutional standpoint. Republican campaign groups have been airing ads attacking health care reform, using slogans such as “Stop the .” Many Republican Congressional candidates for the 2010 midterm elections have promised to work to repeal the bill. Despite Obama signing the bill into law, the Senate still has to pass a 150-page addendum to the legislation, which includes “fixes” to the bill, giving Senate Republicans an opportunity to modify the reform in their favor. A total of 13 states have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the legislation, alleging the health care reform violates Article I of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the 10th Amendment. States that are party to the lawsuit include Texas, Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Washington.

Political analysts are mixed as to the legislation’s political impact on the midterm elections. Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling told Reuters that the passage of health care reform will likely hurt the Democrats, stating, “A lot of voters simply believe that the president and Congress should have been more focused the past year on the economy.” While many Republicans are arguing the bill’s passage will create a backlash against the Democrats in November, some pundits on the right argue the opposite. David Frum, former speechwriter for former Pres. George W. Bush, posted a critique on his website FrumForum, on the Republican Party’s refusal to compromise, calling the bill the Republicans’ Waterloo.

Obama and Congressional Democrats hope the health care reform will gain public support once enacted and have continued to liken the overhaul to other more popular social welfare programs. Following the passage of the health care bill in the House of Representatives, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proclaimed to House members, “You will be joining those who established Medicare and Social Security and now, tonight, health care for all Americans.” While the health care reform stands as a legislative victory for Obama and the Democratic Congress, the fate of the new entitlement program has yet to be sealed due to the numerous challenges to the legislation.

By Alex Hoffman, 3L

On Friday, October 9, the Nobel Prize Committee announced President Barack Obama as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. This announcement has stirred controversy as to its validity, due to President Obama’s mere nine month tenure in office. It also appears that the prestigious award may be more of a burden to the president than a benefit, as the announcement comes on the heels of a Saturday Night Live skit highlighting Obama’s failed attempt to bring Chicago the 2016 Olympics. The skit also portrayed President Obama as a do nothing president, lacking accomplishments, as well breaking many of the promises he made to his supporters during the campaign.

President Obama stated he was “surprised and deeply humbled” by the award and that he did not “view it as a recognition of [his] own accomplishments but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.” Obama asserted that he would accept the award on December 10, “as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21^st century.”

Critics on the right view the award as premature and purely political. The Republican National Committee released a statement, which remarked, “it is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain, President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action.”

Conservatives are not the only ones crying foul. Many on the left who supported Obama’s candidacy did so under the premise that he would work to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the nation is still embroiled in two wars and there is now a possible troop surge in Afghanistan, for liberal supporters of Obama’s award, the celebration is bittersweet.

The Nobel Prize Committee defended their choice, stating their decision was unanimous, and pressed that Obama had made efforts towards nuclear disarmament as well as stressing diplomacy between nations. World leaders welcomed the award and emphasized the symbolism of it over its substance. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the award represented “America’s return to the hearts of the world’s peoples.” Similarly, German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized the “new tone” Obama has set and proclaimed the Nobel Prize was an “incentive to the president and to us all.” The 2008 recipient, former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari viewed the award as prospective, remarking that “the world expects that he will also achieve something.”

While many question the committee’s choice to receive the award, the Nobel Committee has been known for giving out controversial awards that appear more political than substantive. Some critics view the 2002 and 2007 awards to Former President Jimmy Carter and Former Vice President Al Gore as examples of prizes that were repudiations of Bush administration policies. Yasser Arafat’s 1994 Nobel Peace Prize was also considered controversial due to his involvement with terrorism.

President Obama is the third sitting United States President to win the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.

by Alex Hoffman, 3L

In mid-September, both houses of the U.S. Congress voted to block any further federal funding to the community organization group, ACORN, after recent incriminating hidden-camera videos were released. ACORN, which is an acronym for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has claimed that the events in the videos are isolated incidents and do not represent the work of the community organization group as a whole.

The videos show two conservative activists, Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe, posing as a prostitute and a pimp, asking various ACORN representatives at several locations across the country for home loans and advice on starting a brothel for underage Salvadoran girls. In the first video, ACORN representatives at their Baltimore, Md., branch are shown telling Giles and O’Keefe how to obtain housing loans, hide the illegality of their prostitution ring and lie to the IRS by disguising the brothel as a reputable business. One ACORN member told them they could claim the underage girls as dependents and another told them to train the girls to “keep their mouth shut” to avoid exposing the prostitution ring.

The CEO and Chief Organizer of ACORN, Bertha Lewis, initially questioned the validity of the tapes, claiming they were “doctored” and even accused the filmmakers that it was a race-based attempt to bring down the organization. She also initially played down the video as an example of an isolated incident, until more videos were released showing the same tactics used at other ACORN branches with similar results. Employees featured in the videos have since been fired.

Republicans in Congress have been the main force behind the push to investigate ACORN after some members of the group were found to have submitted false voter registration forms with names like “Mickey Mouse,” “Mary Poppins” and “Dick Tracy” during the 2008 president election. Rep. Steve King, (state), stated, “Taxpayers should be outraged that their money has gone to an organization that, in addition to facing charges of voter fraud and tax violations, is willing to facilitate prostitution.”

The second-highest-ranking Republican in the House, Rep. Eric Cantor, (state), stated, “ACORN has violated serious federal laws, and today the House voted to ensure that taxpayer dollars would no longer be used to fund this corrupt organization.”

The House of Representatives vote of 345 to 75 to prohibit federal funding to ACORN was largely bipartisan, although the 75 members who voted against it were Democrats. One opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, NY, stated the bill was “in blatant violation of the Constitution’s prohibition against Bills of Attainder.” The Senate’s bill to deny funding for ACORN was also largely bipartisan with 83 to 7 voting to deny further housing and community grant funding to the organization.

Pres. Barack Obama weighed in on the controversy, stating that what the video purported to show “was certainly inappropriate and deserves to be investigated,” but also stated that “this is not the biggest issue facing the country. It’s not something [he’s] paying a lot of attention to.” ACORN has received approximately $53 million in tax dollars since 1994.

by Alex Hoffman, 3L Day

Since President Obama announced his pick of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the replacement for retiring Justice Souter on the Supreme Court, her confirmation has been entangled with controversy. While many Senators have expressed their confidence in Sotomayor’s judicial experience and knowledge of the law, the milestone that is the appointment of the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice has been bogged down by comments Sotomayor previously made in 2001.

Sotomayor’s controversial statement at issue was that “a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Race was further injected into the confirmation process, as one of the cases she ruled on as a federal appeals judge, Ricci v. DeStefano, which dealt with the racial discrimination of white firefighters was overturned by the Supreme Court.

This resulted in Sotomayor being asked tough questions during confirmation hearings before the Senate Judicial Committee. When explaining her questionable remarks regarding her gender and race, Sotomayor stated that her comments were made in order to inspire Hispanic students to achieve what she has accomplished and maintained that she could rule objectively. While all Democratic Senators on the Committee have thrown their support behind her, Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina was the sole Republican to vote in favor of her. Other Republicans on the panel have opposed her due to her more evasive answers regarding the gun rights, abortion and affirmative action. This contrasted with comments made by Democratic Senators, such as newly minted Al Franken who claimed Sotomayor was “the most experienced nominee to the Supreme Court in 100 years.”

Despite the controversies and lack of bipartisan support, Judge Sotomayor appears to be heading towards Senate confirmation. No Democratic Senator has stated he or she will vote against her and several Republican Senators have made it public that they will confirm her, such as Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe from Maine, Richard Lugar from Indiana, and Mel Martinez from Florida. Even without Republican support, Sotomayor’s confirmation is reasonably safe, with the addition of comedian Al Franken to the Senate, which ensures a filibuster proof majority of 58 Democratic Senators and two independents who caucus with them. Further, Senator Lindsay Graham was quoted as saying to Sotomayor, “Unless you have a complete meltdown you will get confirmed.”

Senate Republicans who fought with Senate Democrats over voting on President Bush’s judicial appointments of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito may also be pressured by accusations of hypocrisy if they attempt to delay Sotomayor’s Senate confirmation. This does not appear to be the case, as many Senate Republicans have promised a speedy confirmation. The top Republican on the Senate Judicial Committee, Senator Jeff Sessions has announced that he will not support judge Sotomayor, but that he would not support any attempt to block a final vote on her confirmation.

If confirmed, Judge Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and the third woman appointed to the court.

In 2008, there was a political transformation in this country.  Four years ago, congress was made up of Republicans and George W. Bush was comfortably reelected to a second term.  In 2009, Congress is now made up of a Democratic majority, which has increased in size in this last election, and Democrat Barack Obama was sworn yesterday as the 44th President of the United States, after winning the 2008 election by a wide margin.  Read the full story

With the economy in shambles, people point fingers at Wall Street. Photo Credit: Jaap Steinvoorte via flickr.com

The current financial crisis has surely been on the mind of the average American this fall. Though we should worry about the state of our economy in this trying time, we should be just as concerned about the proposed solutions to remedy the problem. Read the full story

Since Sen. John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, the 2008 presidential race has been forever changed.  Palin, a self-described hockey mom who lives the libertarian frontier lifestyle, seemed like an unlikely choice.  The initial public reaction was mixed and still is, but a star was rising; McCain’s campaign was saved from obscurity, and the Republican Party was definitively taken off the endangered species list.

Gov. Sarah Palin. Photo Credit: asecopndhandconjecture(flickr.com)

As a mother of five with a blue-collar, working-class husband, Palin’s story is very relatable to American voters.  Her small town, down-to-earth charm is a breath of fresh air, when compared to candidates that believe people in small towns “cling to guns and religion” or who can’t seem to remember how many houses they own.  Whereas many candidates prattle on about stories of their parents’ or grandparents’ working-class origins, Palin is actually living it.  Her outdoorsy, moose-hunting lifestyle epitomizes the limitless frontier culture that is uniquely American, yet rare in today’s urban-centered political culture.  Conservative MSNBC commentator Tucker Carlson was quoted as saying, “Sarah Palin hunts and fishes. …So as a sportsman, I have a profound emotional attachment to Sarah Palin that a reason doesn’t touch.” Read the full story